01-27-2003 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, January 27, 2003 7:00 o'clock p.m. ( #02 -2753 WESLEY BYRNE, Continued) comments in support of the applicant and the Planning Commission reached the following conclusions: 1. Both the applicant and City bear some responsibility for the misunderstanding of what additions were intended and what roof expansions were actually being proposed. 2. In 2002, the Planning Commission felt they were primarily approving additions to the existing residence, and the existing residence would not change substantially. The Planning Commission felt the extent of the removals now far exceeds what they expected. 3. The applicant's structural engineer has identified verbally that the foundation below the remaining first floor requires renovation to continue to serve the first and second floors. 4. The Planning Commission recommended that within the 10' side yard, the applicant should be allowed only to retain or replace structure within the envelope of the original house walls and roof. Therefore, the building plans would have to be revised to match, not exceed, the original spaces that pre- existed, and the second story roof may not be raised beyond what previously existed. While functionally granting a variance to allow construction within the side yard, the vote • on the above conclusion was 6 -1, with Alternate Hannaford in the minority opinion that due to the circumstances the applicant should be allowed to construct the expanded 2nd story as shown in the plans. Mr. Byrne stated that throughout the planning stages of the project he had worked closely with planning staff to design a proposal that, he believed, covered all his bases. He acknowledged that he probably should have provided better drawings originally, however, maintained that the drawings had not changed from what the City had seen from the start. While he had anticipated some problems with a 60 year old foundation, he wasn't aware of the extent of the demolition that would be needed versus repair. After several uneventful visits by Inspector Lyle Oman, he was unaware that 7 months into construction, the project would be halted. Mr. Byrne asked the Council to allow him to build the home he had originally planned and submitted, adding that to change things now that the trusses were built and windows bought would be very costly to him. Mayor Peterson asked how far along the construction was when Lyle Oman had visited. Mr. Byrne pointed out that the inspector had been out on occasion. He believed the last visit had been when the footings of walls and the basement had been inspected. As of late Inspector Bruce Vang, along with his own structural engineer identified the necessity to correct the silt plate and rot along the foundation. • PAGE 4 of 28